KRPN Co., Ltd. Commits to Growth through Offshore Wind Power and Green New Deal

The Green New Deal is emerging as a key issue in job creation. The reason the Green New Deal is gaining prominence is that in the existing fossil fuel-centered economic structure, growth and environmental friendliness cannot coexist, but renewable energy enables sustainable economic development where growth and environmental friendliness can coexist. Accordingly, offshore wind power is expected to rapidly rise, replacing onshore wind power, which has faced limitations.

According to the government's Renewable Energy 3020 strategy, more than 95% of the newly installed capacity (48.7GW) from 2018 to 2030 is planned to be supplied mainly by solar and wind power. However, onshore wind power currently faces difficulties in development due to limited site availability and noise issues. Offshore wind power, installed along coastal areas, is gaining attention as a model that can continuously grow because securing sites is easier and there are no noise complaints.

Offshore wind turbines can be larger than onshore ones, and the wind blows stronger, resulting in a capacity factor more than twice that of onshore wind. As a result, in the UK, wind power projects with lower generation costs than new nuclear power plants have begun to appear, and in Germany and the Netherlands, subsidy-free projects are also being promoted.

In this context, the 160MW Chil-san offshore wind power project currently under development is attracting attention. This project is jointly developed by Korea’s top renewable energy specialist company, Daehan Green Energy, which developed the largest domestic wind power project, Yeonggwang Wind Power (79MW), and the largest domestic solar power project, Gwangbaek Solar Power (99MW), along with KRPN, which holds a diverse renewable energy portfolio including biofuels, fuel cells, and wind power.

A KRPN official expressed confidence, saying, “The success of this project will be an opportunity to leap forward as a leading renewable energy company.” In fact, this project is part of a larger 300MW offshore project near Duuri, Yeonggwang, Jeollanam-do, with a total project scale exceeding 1.2 trillion KRW. Additionally, with offshore wind power’s operating profit margin known to be around 50%, it is expected to significantly impact KRPN’s scale expansion and profitability.

KRPN stated, “Renewable energy is just passing through the introduction phase of the business.” They added, “As the business expands during the industrial growth phase, we will become a company that develops further alongside the Green New Deal and offshore wind power, based on the diversified portfolio we have prepared.”